Goldfuss update (4/5/2012)

Dear Prayer Partners,

You have been praying.....and the Lord has been opening doors!

Praises:

1. Fernando came back to church----Mike met with him and he assured Mike that he does believe that Jesus is God.  He has been helping his neighbors--and having a mini-Bible study with around 10.  His plan is to change the Bible study to Saturdays and have the 10 come with him to church.  He really wants all of them to come to our home for the special Easter Services.
2. Last night so many came for prayer meeting!!!  It is Holy Week, but in year's past fewer people have come---because of a vacation mentality.  But the Lord is working!
3. The Sunday special 50th anniversary for Don Pedro and his wife went very well.  The family was very pleased with the service and the Lord gave freedom for the Gospel to be proclaimed!  Pray especially for Roberto and Veronica and their family to come to church as a result.  Roberto has come before and Veronica is the daughter of the couple.  (Pictures included).
4. Bible Club was great---again a wonderful turnout 25 children.  We are inviting all of these children and their families for Easter Sunday.
5. Jorge was approved for his dissertation.  They will be leaving at the end of this month for Peru for 4 months before returning here for another 8 months-- and then returning to Peru permanently.  

Prayer Requests:

1. The family of the girl that was kidnapped will also be invited to Easter.  The little brother attends the Bible Club.  Pray that they will attend.
2. Mariano---Clara and Sergio's son that was in the accident has acknowledged his need to "know the Lord better."  We believe he needs to be saved.  Pray as Mike visits him.  He is now recuperating at his home.
3. A couple in our church is having major marital problems.  The wife has continually been practicing lying and stealing---please pray for her conversion.
4. The Easter Services:

           7:00 AM--Sunrise service

           8:00 AM--Breakfast that we will provide

           9:30 AM--Morning Service

           12:00--Lunch that the church people will provide

            2:00--Fun and fellowship

Our people are so wonderful!  They are preparing to serve and to be ready to talk with all of the visitors after serving. The potential for many coming is huge!!!  We need this day bathed in prayer.

• Our own church people are @ 80.
• The church in the pueblo that used to preach the Bible (and now it is questionable if they do)---is coming.  They have said that 20 are definitely coming.  We have met more that used to go and they said that they are coming.  So we are thinking ---maybe 40.
• The 27 Bible Club kids and their families are invited.  So a potential of @ 50???
• And then our kids couldn't resist inviting some of their friends from their sports---another 10.
• Oh yes, and Fernando's 10. 

If everyone came, we could have between 150-190 people here.  Obviously, there is no way to know for sure.  Pray that the Lord would bring who he would want to come and that he would prevent those that would hinder God's work.  

Pray that we could maintain order, the Gospel would have free course with little distraction, and that people's lives would be changed.  The best part of all of this is that our people are ready to minister.  Praise the Lord!!!!!

***With open doors always comes spiritual warfare.  We expect it.  Two of our crew have been having nightmares.  We prayed for that specifically---and the Lord gave sweet sleep, but please continue to pray!

With much love,

Faith for Mike and kids----and Bethany and Lauren too! 

Goldfuss update (3/30/2012)

Dear Praying friends,

1. The girl, Daniela, from our neighborhood who was kidnapped last week, was finally found this past Tuesday.  We held off on giving you news as there were conflicting reports several times.  Pray especially for Nico as he has opportunities with that family to give them the gospel. 
2. New couple at church, Sergio and Clara.  On Monday morning at 5 AM, their 28 year old son fell asleep at the wheel and crashed into a bridge.  He has a broken hip and nose but the other passenger was in an induced coma.  Pray for Mariano and Felipe that the Lord would use this to save them.
3. Tere's grandson Marlon (4 yrs old) is in the hospital with pneumonia.  Tere has been struggling with her diabetes and very serious family problems--none of her adult children are saved.  Pray for the Lord to also use this situation to bring this family to Christ.
4. Nico's wife, Liliana--her leg is getting progressively better.  Each day for 2 weeks she has come to get it redressed and we have had more gospel opportunities with her than ever before.
5. An old christian church up here in the pueblo where we live.  The pastor is leaving and people say the church used to preach the Bible but no longer--some have been saddened by this.  Pray for the Lord to open a door there if He would have us help them.  We'd be very interested in helping them if the Lord would allow this.   
6. Praise--we have had a few more kids each week for our Bible club--27 this past week.  The great majority of them have never heard the gospel before.  Pray for our 5th week tomorrow (Saturday.)  

Future prayer requests:

1. Sunday services--we are studying 1 Corinthians right now. This past Sunday, Juana and Reme's mom (suffering some dementia) left between our 2 services and we could not find her.  About 7 people went out looking for her.  She showed up again on her own after going to visit someone that she knew.  Everyone at church was very very preoccupied while she was just eating lunch with a friend.  Needless to say, the first part of our worship service wasn't very worshipful with so many distractions.
2. Don Pedro and wife.  This Sunday evening after our services, I have been asked to do a "ceremony" for a couple that is celebrating 50 years together.  They are not saved and there will probably be between 50-100 unsaved people present.  Many in our church will also be there.  Pray for the Lord to give me much wisdom in presenting the gospel during this time.   
3. We've been bombarded with minor health problems recently (as well as earthquakes--we had a 7.9 earthquake last week and they say that there have been over 120 aftershocks--we only felt the earthquake.)  

Please pray that the Lord will have us do what HE wants us to do each day--strength and willing hearts for us to be obedient.

Next Sunday, April 8, we will have our 5th consecutive sunrise service and then Resurrection service starting at 7 AM at our home.  It is normally a very very full but blessed day.  Pray that Christ will be glorified.

Thank you for your prayers,

In Christ,

Mike for all the Goldfii

Goldfuss prayer update (3/19/2012)

Dear Prayer Partners,

Thank you for praying! The Lord gave a wonderful turnout yesterday.

Praises:

1. Luis—seems to be growing in the Lord.
2. Roberto—(Juana’s brother in law) who was near death in January has come every week for a month. After talking with him, it seems that the Lord is genuinely drawing him unto Himself. It is amazing to see this change. In December when Mike preached at Juana’s house for a special Christmas dinner, he seemed apathetic. Then the Lord allowed a very sudden illness to get his attention. What a privilege to see this process of transformation taking place.
3. We had 24 this week in Bible Club!!! This is amazing due to the extremely Catholic pueblo where we live.

Praise and Prayer requests:

1. Fernando—who does not believe that Jesus is God, has not come for about a month.
2. Lilliana’s leg—We are doing wound care daily as well as antibiotic injections. Her leg seems to be getting better. Please pray for this situation as the social medicine is not advising an aggressive treatment of her very infected leg. The doctor that referred us to the specialists at the social medicine is giving us the prescriptions for the injections and is also confused as to why they did not give antibiotics from the very beginning. Please pray that the Lord would give wisdom and that we would be able to save her leg. The good news is that the Lord seems to be opening Lilliana’s heart through this.
3. Urgent request—Our neighbors that Nico personally knows, had their 16 year old daughter abducted. They have not seen her since last Monday. Two of her friends saw two men get out of an expensive truck and grab her when she was leaving school. The police have tracked her cell phone to a house in a different city and they are planning a raid on the house on Tuesday. They believe that this house is known for human trafficking. Please pray as the police have told the family that the raid is very dangerous for their daughter as well. Nico reported to the church that the family is understandably distraught and that he wents to tell them that we as a church would be praying. The family is especially asking that everyone would pray all day on Tuesday. Pray that the Lord would use this horrible situation to draw these people to Himself.

When you pray for us as a family, please pray for our emotional wellbeing as well as spiritual walk with the Lord, protection, and health. We have been dealing with some intense situations. Pray that we would be refreshed in the Lord Himself.

Thank you so much. We truly depend upon your prayers.

Mike and Faith and kids

Goldfuss update (3/15/2012)

Dear Prayer Partners,

Although we have busy this past week, we definitely need your prayers, so we'll give you a quick update.

PRAISES:

1. Bible Club. This was our third week. We started with 4, the second week we had 9 and this past Saturday we had 19!!!! Praise the Lord for this wonderful opportunity.
2. The leading men in the church have been going through some difficult trials. Just this week a good number of them have had to make some important decisions, and this is growing them. 

REQUESTS:

1. Nico's wife, Liliana, severely cut her leg over six weeks ago. We were able to get her to a doctor on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday of this week. It's serious enough that her leg could be in jeopardy.  This is not a result of her negligence but directly from the extremely poor socialized medicine that didn't even prescribe her with an antibiotic. Faith's nursing skills have been very helpful this past week. Pray that the Lord will use this to save Liliana and for Faith to have even more gospel opportunities with dressing her wound each day. 
2. Tere has been going through some trying times with her family. She is the only believer in her home. 
3. Pray for the men to stand together and do what they need to do in the leadership of the church. Pray especially for Beto as he will start teaching SS this week for the next several weeks. Gabriel and Memo both did a good job.

Thank you for praying.
Mike for all the Goldfii

Goldfuss update (3/5/2012)

Dear Prayer Partners,

Praises:

1. Good services.
2. Good married couples class with a new couple attending.
3. Bible Club up here where we live—the first week we had five and then this Saturday we had 11! They had so much fun and plan to invite more children. Continue to pray especially since it is very Catholic up here in the pueblos. Spring is our hot season—so the weather is beautiful. Please pray as we have 6 more weeks for the Bible Club.

Prayer Requests:

1. Lilli—Nico’s wife cut her leg very deeply and it is not healing well. She may need a skin graft. Salvation also.
2. Luis—Strained his back building a house. Shows signs of true conversion.
3. Memo—has vertigo. Possible inner ear infection. Was at church with his eyes closed.
4. Silvia—faithfulness
5. Salvation—Pedro and Fernando (Fernando has not attended for two weeks).
6. The weather here has been very hot. Mikey had an outdoor basketball game on Friday that was cancelled due to high UV radiation and pollution. The team went inside to practice in our home gym—and at least two of the team members have very bad throat and respiratory infections. Mikey is one of these and it is now spreading to the whole family. The kids want to be outside, but the dust and contamination is not helping their health. Please pray that we would all be better soon.

Thank you again for praying!

Mike and Faith